A few days ago I was looking for extra paper and found a spiral notebook.  Leafing through the notebook I noticed there was a “business” plan - more ideas than plan.  Looking closely at the hand writing it looked like Ashley’s and mine.  Reading the notes my shoulders began to tremble uncontrollably, sides of my mouth hurt due to their upwards erection, then it happened… a rather audible intake gasp with an outward deep belly bellow.  It was the exercise  video we wanted to make, back in 1995, with our own interpretive fitness moves.  If you would indulge me….allow me to share the very short song list, names of exercises and costume changes.  Because with Ashley and I if there aren’t costume changes then what’s the point.   Allow me to say that Ashley and I have always enjoyed interpretive dance ESPECIALLY to Raymond Scott.

 Preliminary Song List:

Dinner Music for 6 Hungry Cannibals — Raymond Scott
James Bond Theme
Try a little Tenderness

Names of Exorcises I mean exercises/dances

Slap and Grab
Slap and pop
Multi Colored Clown Fro
Running Hatchling Galapogos Tortoise Running
For the Beach
How to get thru a crowded Club Dance
Fat abs for ab fabs.

Costumes:
Bathing Suits (Pin UP Girl Glamour 40s-50s)
Dorothy Lamour jungle Road to Rio outfit
Beatnik - capri leggings Black (beret/scarf) Laura Petri goes Bond
Rhoda Wear with Rainbow Wigs

This is just one example of the wacky-ness inside the mind of a Sterille on any given day - even today.

Can’t we all just get along?

September 12, 2008

Man Shot and Killed

Los Angeles: Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) detectives are investigating the shooting death of 51-year-old Peter Haskell.

On September 11, 2008 at about 2:15 p.m., Hollenbeck patrol officers responded to a radio call of a possible homicide that occurred in the 1700 block of North Main Street.  When the officers arrived, they located and detained the suspect, Bruce Kalberg. 

Read more here:  http://lapdblog.typepad.com/lapd_blog/2008/09/man-shot-and-ki.html

Thank you d-na for sending this. Honestly I think I’m honored to have been compared to Black Flag and the Slits, however, Black Flag and the Slits may have other opinions.

Remember when Bruce Kalberg showed us pictures of himself, when he shaved the top of his head and then put a piece of raw liver on it? Kids these days don’t have the gumption to do something like that, they think it’s all in the piercings and tattoos. Hey kids, do any of YOU place raw organ meats on your head when going out for the evening? If you do we wanna hear from you, well then again, maybe not.

Ashley came to visit Aan at her farm located deep in the backwoods of WestVirginia.  Ashley was scared at first, but soon relaxed with a glass (or two) of wine.  Around the dinner table, politics were discussed.  Aan has recreated the scenario discussed around the aforementioned dinner table.  So to you dear Ashley, this half-ass photoshopped thingy is for you!

Alright not really death but murky memory muck.  Because of a simple comment last night from someone named Bobby who loves us and we love him too, I was flooded with memories and all sorts of crazy shit.  Like going with Bobby’s brother to a poetry reading in the middle of an abandoned pool atop the hills of the Valley,  eating dog biscuits in the church sanctuary and doing the “worm”***  ,drinking night train in the dugouts of the Sherman Oaks park.  These are things that my son has clearly missed living way out in the BFE WV.

Today I am reminded that no matter what I did as a youth, how wacky or zany, I am just a middle aged woman who is totally unhip in the eyes of her 17 year old son.  Off the cuff I told him over coffee today that I used to hang out with a drummer from Bad Religion (though we both were only 12 at the time).  He looked at me in disbelief and said well, if you guys hung out when you were kids then I guess…he’s gotta be really old like you.  Curses!

So tomorrow I drop him & his buddies off at the Warped Tour in Pittsburgh, I will turn to him and say:  I may be old but at least I can say I saw The Clash at 14 and Joe Strummer’s sweat hit my forehead.  But what’s the use, he’ll just say  “god Mom, I don’t listen to Classic Rock”.

*** The Worm was a dance that originated with an LA punk pugilist band from the late 70s/early 80s called   The Brainiacs.  Little did I know when doing the worm during youth group I would end up marrying the drummer many years later and STILL be married the guy.  Crazier things have happened I suppose.

Back when only the trust fund kids had computers, and I had no idea about letraset (- yet), we hand wrote our flyers then took them to the copier shop across the street from LA Valley College. Here is the famed flyer where the club owner forked a guy, a murder suspect stopped the show and D-NA turned 21, there was cake, booze and good times. Glad someone remembers it.

2o years later, and just as fresh as a Summers Eve … So to all those out there who may still want this mystic 8th musical wonder of the world…enjoy

Oh yes the luscious lyrical love song to our menses - On the Rag

That puts a whole new spin on gravy sucking men -ses

After I left the band and Arleta became the bass player, I would come back from time to time to play rhythm guitar.  That show was particularly fun.  I will always cherish these women because each one brings a completely different dynamic to the table.

Sisterhood is a wonderful thing, yet the balance can be so difficult to maintain.   I am often amused in daily life the inner workings of women and their relationships with other women.    Be it the mother daughter thing, the old friend vs new friend or co-worker thing.  We can all be vicious  no matter how hard we try to be unbiased, open and caring.  I often wonder about todays spunky girl bands  and how they are handling their own band challenges when hormones play a role

If you’re a girl band, here’s what we did…sometimes when things got tense, we’d just turn up the amps real loud - (usually to the point of distortion), do lots of feedback and scream some really truly foul things and before you knew it we were all laughing.  Try it…you might like it

YEAST!

So here we were at the Roxy. Was this a show case for Gloria Bennett students? Not only was D-na a student of the famed Divine Ms. Bennett but so was Axl Rose who was so glam it hurt and hurt real bad.

There was a time that without fail the Sterilles would play the Sound Check on Sunset and Vine (If my memory serves me correctly) Sunday nights or Wednesdays and sometimes Spider Middleman would sit in and play his Sax… The Denver Mexicans would try out new tunes and we’d hoot n’ holler from the sidelines. One time Tex from Tex and the Horseheads almost decked me for some stupid joke I said. Those were the good ol’ days. D-na do you remember when the cops stopped our set because there was a murder subject hiding in the bar, then they caught the guy and took him out and we continued the song right where we left off. Now that’s rock n’ roll people!